


Confessions of a Teenage Genius

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys In Love, Bullying, Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nervous Tony Stark, Pining, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-10 10:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19501105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: Tony finds Loki hiding in the school library with a split lip, and he’s already planning how to make things right when he realises… it’s not the injury that has Loki so upset.





	Confessions of a Teenage Genius

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt** — _“Who did this?”_

Loki didn’t turn up at lunch, and Tony was worried. He knew that Loki had free study in the period before, so he was usually one of the first to arrive in the cafeteria, and he always nabbed one of the best tables for them right by the windows. And Tony had been late out of physics, because Dr Richards had called him back to talk to him about his paper. So he’d practically sprinted through the hallways, worried that he was leaving Loki waiting, not wanting to miss a single moment with his best friend– with the person he’d kind of maybe been crushing on for the better part of a year.

But then he stumbled through the cafeteria doors only to find that Loki _wasn’t there_. Their table had been taken, too– Tony was late enough that there weren’t any free spaces left, and his only real options were either to sit next to Thor, or with Steve and Bucky. He considered his choice only briefly and with a regretful wish that Bruce could have the same lunch hour as him, but honestly, there really was only the one person that he felt like spending time with.

So, he pulled out his phone and texted Loki instead.

_` Hey are you okay?` _

He waited a few moments, not bothering to sit down, just flicking his phone in his hands and smiling at the few people who gave him an odd look. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the phone buzzed, and he glanced down to quickly read the answer.

_` I’m fine` _

Fine?

Yeah, sure. Tony knew Loki well enough to recognise that would mean the exact opposite, and he was already turning to walk through the door even as he tapped out his next question.

_` Where are you? Our tables gone` _

Loki’s response took longer this time – even though Tony knew his friend had seen the message – and he was forced to wait a moment in the hallway before it arrived lest he risk heading in the wrong direction and taking even _longer_. He was practically tapping his foot by the time he got his response, though more from worry than impatience.

_` Library` `  
597` _

Tony paused for a second, wondering at the number– but by the time he’d made it to the library he’d worked it out. He received a _look_ from the librarian as he dashed through a little too fast, but thankfully, she was nicer than most and didn’t offer a reprimand. He knew exactly where he needed to go, and as he turned into the correct row of shelves, he stopped dead.

Loki was at the end of the row, leaning against the wall with his head on his knees. His bag was on the ground, spilling out a few books, and he looked like he was trembling.

Tony hesitantly stepped a little closer, feeling overly worried.

“Loki?” Tony asked gently. 

Loki glanced up at the greeting, and Tony’s heart clenched with anger at the sight of a swollen, bruised jaw and a bloody lip.

“Oh, Loki,” he said, moving closer to crouch down at Loki’s side. “Who did this?” he asked, reaching out to gently cup the cheek on the uninjured side of Loki’s face. “Who did this to you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Loki muttered, though he didn’t move away from Tony’s touch. “I told you, I’m fine.” Tony shook his head and moved his hands to his bag, pulling out a packet of tissues. Despite his words Loki tilted his head gratefully, allowing Tony to begin wiping the blood from his split lip.

“It _does_ matter,” Tony said firmly as he worked, his voice going low, laced with anger. “And this is not _fine_ —”

“Tony, just don’t,” Loki said, pleading just a little. And Tony had never been able to resist those eyes. It wasn’t something that he was happy to drop for good, but if it made Loki more comfortable, then he was willing to do so at least for now.

He focused his attentions on Loki’s face, using water from his bottle to wipe away most of the blood as he dabbed at Loki’s lip. Thankfully, the cut had already stopped bleeding, though it was the bruise that Tony was more concerned about.

“We should get you to the nurse,” Tony said, and when Loki wrinkled his nose – and then promptly winced when the movement pulled at his lip – Tony shook his head. “You need to get some ice on that—”

“She’ll ask me what happened,” Loki said. “And I don’t want…”

“Whoever did this deserves to get in trouble for it,” Tony said firmly. “Loki, I can’t stand by while you’re getting hurt—

“I just don’t want things to get worse,” Loki muttered. “They already give me a hard time for everything else.”

Okay, in full seriousness now– Tony was going to _find_ the bastards who made Loki hurt like this, and he was going to make them regret even _thinking_ about laying a hand on his friend. But he knew that right now, anger wasn’t what Loki needed, no matter how much satisfaction Tony knew that it would bring him.

“Loki, I don’t want to push you if you don’t want to talk about it,” Tony said, trying to keep himself calm. “But you know that if you _want_ to talk, I’m always going to be right here.”

Loki actually trembled a little at that, and Tony sighed.

He really did care about Loki, and… seeing him like this, seeing him actually fucking _scared_ of whoever had done this cut him right down to the core. So, in a gesture that was meant to calm himself almost as much as it was Loki, Tony turned to lean against the wall at Loki’s side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. Loki leaned into him, his knees falling slightly and his head turning to rest on Tony’s shoulder, so that Loki was tucked comfortably under Tony’s arm.

“It really is fine, though,” Loki whispered, relaxing a little in Tony’s hold. “I know how to deal with them, I’ve been dealing with it since I started school here.”

Loki started at their school a year and a half ago, when he and his brother had moved to America from Europe. Loki had been dealing with fucking _bullies_ for a _year and a half_ , and it had somehow taken Tony this long to notice.

Oh, he knew that Loki had problems with some of their classmates, because Loki complained about it all the time. And Tony had been witness to the way that Loki had been teased about his accent at first, and then later about the way he loved books, and for his intellect, and for his dark humour and dry wit and all the things that had only ever made Tony long for him all the more. But Tony hadn’t thought that it had ever escalated to violence.

“I’m so sorry, Loki,” Tony said. “I should have—”

“It’s not your fault,” Loki sighed. “I didn’t need help, and I never expected you to do anything—”

“It’s not about expecting,” Tony interrupted. “Loki, you’re my friend. I want to be there for you, whether you _need_ it or not.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Loki said quietly. And although Tony could hear that Loki wasn’t accepting the offer of help entirely, Tony hoped that he had at least managed to get through to him a little.

They sat there in silence for a while, and as time passed Tony’s fingers started to play with the long strands of Loki’s hair. They were pressed close together after all, and Tony’s hand was already curled around Loki’s shoulder. It was natural to fiddle. Loki didn’t even seem to mind– he was relaxing more and more into Tony’s side, as if Tony were the most comfortable of pillows. But even as Loki relaxed, Tony thought that he could still hear all the gears turning in Loki’s brilliant mind, and then, slowly… Loki began to talk.

He admitted that he had been struggling with a particular group of people, but that he had never wanted to speak out against them because they were close with Thor– though Thor, of course, had never caught wind of the bullying, because if he _had_ Tony knew he would have put a stop to it. Thor was just as fiercely protective of his little brother as Tony was, and Tony knew that he would have likely beaten anyone who laid a hand on Loki to a pulp and then been willing suffer the consequences with no questions asked.

These people – who Loki still didn’t name but, Tony knew exactly who they were regardless – had terrorised him for years, but generally just name-calling (Liesmith, Trickster– the words left a sour taste on the tip of Tony’s tongue) but recently, it had escalated to far worse, ever since Loki had come out. Tony’s blood was boiling already– but then, Loki paused, clearly not really wanting to discuss what had happened during his free study period, what had led to the split lip and the hiding in the library.

“Hey,” Tony said gently, recognising the hesitation. “You really… Loki, you should really tell someone about this—”

“I’m telling you,” Loki replied. He didn’t look at Tony while he spoke, but he stayed pressed against Tony’s side– and Tony took comfort from the fact that he seemed to be helping at least a little. “I don’t want to tell anyone else, I just… I want it to _stop_.”

“Then let’s make it stop,” Tony said firmly. “If you don’t want them to know that it’s you, then _I’ll_ tell someone. I’ll, I don’t know, I’ll say that they were bullying _me_ , or I’ll make the principal understand that this isn’t something that can be spread around. Or, if you don’t want me to do that, then I’ll deal with them _myself_ —”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Tony,” Loki said, “But… please. Don’t. I don’t want this to turn into something worse.”

“Loki,” Tony said, and he felt bad for going back on his earlier words not to push but this was just… _so much worse_ than he’d thought. “Loki, please. What happened?”

Loki drew in a deep breath, but it seemed like now that he had started to talk, the floodgates were opened and were not going to be closed again any time soon.

“It started when they began to accuse me of having a crush,” Loki said, still not meeting Tony’s eyes. “They always… well, they see the way I look at someone.”

Tony swallowed, his fingers curling into Loki’s shirt because– Loki liked someone, liked them enough that he had got hurt defending them. And in a way, that stung, because he and Loki truly were the best of friends. Tony had _thought_ that they shared everything together, but now to realise that Loki had kept not only the bullying to himself but the fact that he had a crush as well… and okay, sure, Tony hadn’t exactly told _Loki_ about _his_ crush, but, obviously that was a completely different situation. And Tony _knew_ that Loki had never even had a boyfriend, and he hardly spent time with anyone other than Tony.

He felt… okay, so he felt jealous.

Who else was Loki spending so much time with that he had come to like them _that much?_

But Loki started to talk again, and Tony pushed those nasty thoughts away, feeling more than a little guilty. Loki was hurting in more ways than one– and what, Tony was busy feeling _jealous_ of someone he probably didn’t even know?

“They’ve been getting in my face for a while, saying that he’ll never like me, that he’s too good for me, that I’m pretty much doomed to just pining after him for the rest of my life,” Loki said, and Tony loosened his grip on Loki’s shirt only so that he could run a comforting hand up and down over Loki’s arm. He wanted to tell him that he was _perfect_ , that anyone who was given the gift of being with Loki would be the luckiest person in the world. But Loki was still talking, and Tony didn’t get the chance. “I could deal with that, though, I could ignore it. But then they asked why he would want me when he could have the pick of the whole school, when he…” Loki trailed off without warning, and shifted a little uncomfortably.

“It’s okay, it’s just me,” Tony promised. “You can tell me anything, remember?”

“They said that he would never want me when he was already sleeping with the whole rest of the school,” Loki said, almost spitting the words out, though somehow… his body was still relaxed, still leaning into Tony’s side. One of his hands had come up to fist into Tony’s shirt in the middle of his chest, and his head turned to press further against Tony’s shoulder. He was almost in Tony’s lap, his shins leaning against Tony’s thighs, and Tony wrapped both arms around Loki’s waist to hold him more firmly in place.

Had Tony not been so freaking angry, he probably would have been blissed out right about then. But, he couldn’t forget what they were discussing, and he couldn’t get the red of Loki’s blood out of his mind.

“So they told you that you would never get with the guy you like, then they insulted him right to your face? Loki, I don’t know what you did, but I’m sure that after all of that it was entirely justified.”

Loki turned his head, then, and Tony felt the cool press of Loki’s nose against his neck.

“I shouldn’t have hit them,” Loki muttered. “That was hot-headed and stupid. It was something that Thor would have done.”

“You’re right,” Tony agreed. “It was very Thor-ish. I’d have thought you’d be more inclined to throw a book at them or something.”

“I would _never_ do that,” Loki replied, lifting his head to stare at Tony, completely horrified. “That would damage the spine, and crumple the pages—”

Tony really, really couldn’t hold in a chuckle at that, leaning his forehead against Loki’s almost instinctively.

Loki rolled his eyes as he realised what Tony had meant to do, though there was a tiny smile playing at the undamaged side of his lips.

“Seriously, though, Loki,” Tony said, holding his gaze. “You know that you’re amazing, right?”

Something that Tony couldn’t quite put a name to flashed through Loki’s gaze then, and Tony sighed.

“Really, you don’t need to listen to them. They don’t know you, they don’t know what they’re talking about—”

“They’re right, though,” Loki whispered, and something thick lodged itself in Tony’s throat. But Loki didn’t even seem to notice– he just turned his head and whispered some of the saddest words that Tony thought he had ever had the misfortune to hear. “Not about the insult, obviously, just… about everything else. They’re right.”

“No,” Tony said immediately. “No, they’re not. You’re so fucking smart, smarter than anyone else in this school. Loki, you’re the best person that I know. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

But rather than accepting the compliment, Loki just looked pained. “You really don’t know,” he whispered.

“I know better than they do,” Tony said fiercely. “I know you far better than them, so why should you listen to their words over mine?” Loki’s eyes were wide now, and Tony knew that he had to push his advantage. He was nervous to the extreme, but– if this would help Loki then goddamn it, Tony was going to say it. His own mortification was nothing when Loki was feeling so fucking sad. “Loki, you’re… you’re perfect. Fuck, you’re just… you don’t know what you do to me.”

“Tony,” Loki cut in. “Tony, you… you _like_ me?”

Tony drew in a sharp breath. _Goddamn it_ , okay, well– go hard or go home, right?

“Loki, if you wanted it… I would date you right now. I would… god, Loki I’ve liked you for so long, as so much more than just as a friend. You’re more than just important to me, you make me feel like I could do anything, like… I just, I want to spend every moment with you that I can.”

Tony knew that his words were a jumbled mess, knew that he probably wasn’t making a single lick of sense. But Loki was staring at him with his green eyes so wide, and Tony just couldn’t fucking _concentrate_. He was laying out his heart on a silver platter, serving it up to be sliced and diced—

But he needed Loki to know that he was _important_ , that he was– okay, yeah, fuck, that he was _loved_ , and…

“Loki,” Tony said. “I know you said you like someone else, but I just… I need you to know that not everyone thinks the way those assholes do, okay? _I_ think that you’re amazing.”

Loki was still staring but he… didn’t look like he was still disbelieving. He almost looked like he was _happy_ , and that… didn’t make a whole lot of sense at all.

“You could have anyone you wanted,” Loki whispered, his eyes wide and incredulous. “You could have anyone at all, but… you want _me_.”

Tony opened his mouth– to say what, he wasn’t sure, because he was so used to hiding it but he didn’t really want to deny it, either—

But that didn’t matter, because then Loki’s lips were brushing over his. It really was the lightest of touches, the most gentle kiss that Tony had ever been part of. And it was perfect, really, just the way that it was. But Tony was also much too aware of the fact that those lips belonged to _Loki_ , the one he had wanted for far too long. He gasped and parted his lips, pressing closer, wanting more, knowing that he would never be able to get enough of Loki _kissing him—_

“Fuck,” Loki hissed, jerking away, pressing his hand to his mouth as his eyes shut tightly in obvious pain.

Tony had become so lost in the moment that there was a second’s pause before he realised what had happened.

Oh, _shit_.

“I am so sorry,” Tony said, horrified, reaching out and wanting to comfort, but not sure that the touch would still be welcome. “I’m– _Loki_ —”

“It’s fine,” Loki said, though he kept his eyes shut, and _obviously_ ‘it’s fine’ was code for ‘ _that really fucking hurt, you asshole_.’

Except, when Loki _did_ open his eyes, he didn’t look at Tony like he thought he was an ass. He looked at Tony like he’d just told him that he’d won the greatest prize imaginable, like Loki was suddenly within reach of everything that he had ever wanted.

“Loki,” Tony whispered, not entirely sure that he wasn’t dreaming. Loki’s arms were looped over Tony’s shoulders, and he was properly sitting in Tony’s lap, now. Tony’s arms curled around Loki’s waist to steady him, and then Loki bent down to rest their foreheads together.

It was comfortable and yet still _intimate_ , and Tony felt like he was completely and utterly content. And even though Tony had math and he knew that Loki had politics, neither of them moved when the bell rang. They simply remained in their soft embrace, not wanting to let go of this new feeling they had found.

But they couldn’t stay there forever. It was unlucky that the librarian needed to shelve a book in their row, and looked about to chastise them– but then Loki, the little shit, pulled the injured card, widening his eyes and letting his injured lip tremble. And the librarian – definitely, _definitely_ Tony’s favourite member of school staff – offered to call the office, and let them stay for the rest of the lesson. Which, incidentally, was the last class of the day.

So they spent the time still pressed together, surrounded by books and just reaffirming all that they now were.

“Okay, so there is still one thing,” Tony said a long while later, pressing his lips to the top of Loki’s head and revelling in the fact that he now _could_. “You said you don’t want to go to the nurse or tell a teacher, but, we can’t just let them get away with this, can we?”

Loki had looked wary during the beginning of Tony’s question, but by the end, he was smiling– or, well, he was smiling as best as he could.

“No,” Loki agreed. “We can’t.”

“Right,” Tony said. “Okay, well, you said that they said they didn’t believe I would ever get with you, right? Then why don’t we prove them wrong?”

For a moment, Tony thought that Loki was going to agree again– because it would be fun, wouldn’t it? Showing the bullies just how wrong they were, proving that _actually_ , Tony wanted Loki above everyone else in the entire school.

But then Loki shook his head and cupped Tony’s cheek, his thumb stroking Tony’s skin gently. “I don’t want to use this to get back at them,” Loki said. “It’s too… important.”

Tony felt a surge of affection, and he leaned in to press a kiss to the tip of Loki’s nose. “All right,” he said. “Then how about something else? I know Thor will help, and I mean… we’re the two smartest kids in the school. I’m sure we’ll be able to think of something that’s… ah, _explosive_.”

And when Loki’s eyes lit up with that spark of mischief that Tony recognised all too well, he knew that those bastards were going to pay for what they had done. They would make it so that the bullies would never dream of hurting Loki again– and they would do it _together._

Loki didn’t need to face this alone anymore. Tony would make sure of it.


End file.
